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Battery dump underlines larger recycling problem

The recent discovery of secret stockpiles of waste batteries abandoned by the military in Matsu has exposed a lack of a national system for recycling batteries. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials said yesterday that clean-up measures and studies on long-term environmental and health impacts would have to be carried out.

As a result of road construction work, Nankan (南竿) residents recently discovered mounds of waste batteries abandoned by the army in a depot which has not been used for 40 years. After local media exposed the discovery, the armed forces in Matsu yesterday began to remove the batteries, but found the problem was bigger than they could handle.

An official leading a hazardous chemicals team investigating the site, who declined to be identified, told the Taipei Times that they would require specialist assistance because some of the batteries could not be easily removed without polluting the soil in the area.

Truckloads

So far, the military has removed three truckloads of a variety of batteries, including smaller batteries and a larger, carbon-zinc variety.

"The batteries might have been buried for decades. Nobody knows how deep the site is or where to dump the soil, which could have been polluted," a Ministry of National Defense official said.

The official said there were other supplies dumped at the depot, which covers an area about the size of a basketball court. The site has been isolated and warning signs were erected yesterday.

According to Chen Hsiu-hua (陳秀華), director-general of Lienchiang County's Environmental Protection Bureau, the situation is beyond the local government's control and the assistance of the central government is desperately required.

"We need the EPA to carry out comprehensive analysis of soil and water samples at the site," Chen told the Taipei Times.

In years gone by, when civilians still relied on kerosene lamps, the military was already making extensive use of battery-powered torches. According to local environmental officials, abandoned batteries can be readily found on almost all of the nation's islets and military bases. However, the latest site could be the most troublesome yet.

But Ho Soon-ching (何舜琴), director-general of the EPA's Solid Waste Control Bureau, told the Taipei Times that the EPA would ask the military to begin cleaning up the site on its own. However, long-term analysis and studies of possible soil pollution involving mercury and other heavy metals would have to be carried out.

Unregulated

"The military's use of batteries has not been regulated by the EPA for reasons of national security. We can only trust in the military to dispose of batteries responsibly," Ho said.

Ho said that Taiwan currently lacks the ability to safely dispose of batteries. All spent batteries recycled in Taiwan are ultimately sent overseas.

However, despite promoting battery recycling for seven years, the EPA estimates that only 17 percent of used batteries, excluding those used by the military, are recycled. This compares very unfavorably with the figures of Denmark (75 percent), Belgium (65 percent), Austria (50 percent) and Germany (40 percent).
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